The venue whose pasta night was so popular it’s now twice-weekly (plus five more deals)

As the cost of a flat white creeps up and your salary remains static, your 9-to-5 fuel needs to be as wallet-friendly as possible. From hearty Japanese rice bowls and currywursts to cacio e pepe in a usually pricey Melbourne neighbourhood, this roster of affordable weekday deals proves that $20 meals still exist.

$19.99 Korean lunchboxes, Hong Dae, CBD

Dosirak is South Korea’s answer to Japan’s bento box, with rice and a balanced mix of side dishes neatly packaged in containers. This Korean eatery’s recently launched $19.99 dosirak menu features 15 variations including beef bulgogi, spicy pork, and fried chicken with sauces including lemon cream. As per tradition, a slew of sides includes kimchi, soy-braised quail eggs, rolled omelette and a honeyed rice cake. Available from 11.30am to 3pm.

100 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/hongdae_korean_restaurant

Multiple specials, Bar Bouni, Southbank

Working in Southbank’s Arts Precinct? Don’t tell your boss, but this new bar is about to be responsible for your long lunches and early knock-offs. On Thursdays, a $19.90 burger-and-fries combo offers three Middle Eastern-leaning choices: smashed beef kofta with zhoug, the green Yemeni sauce; fried chicken with harissa and tahini sauce; and a vegan-friendly white bean and chickpea fritter in a potato bun. Wednesdays are reserved for Lebanese-style steak frites served with zhoug-infused butter ($24.90). All specials run from noon to late.

153 Sturt Street, Southbank, barbouni.com.au

$20 lunches, Godby Hotel, South Yarra

Housed in the old South Yarra Railway Station’s first-class lounge, Godby Hotel is a sexy multilevel venue dressed in walnut-stained timber. But its 12pm–3pm weekday deals match the variety and prices at a food court, making it a good option for lunches with the crew. For $20, find pub classics like chicken schnitzel and smash burgers, pastas including cacio e pepe, and sushi platters that nod to the venue’s Japanese-inspired bar Nightbird.

163 Toorak Road, Melbourne, godbyhotel.com.au

$20 dinner specials, Ophelia, Northcote

Bargain summer dinners are Ophelia’s forte. Customers called for more of the wildly popular $20 Tuesday pasta nights and the team obliged, adding Thursdays too.

In between carb-forward nights, Wednesdays are all about roast chicken. From 6pm onwards, score half a boneless bird and one side for $20. Currently, it comes with braised fennel atop spicy vodka sauce and herb oil. Throw in $10 chips for the table and you’re golden.

85 High Street, Northcote, opheliawestgarth.com.au

Lunch from $19, Hofbrauhaus, CBD

From 12pm-3pm on weekdays, Hofbrauhaus runs an express menu with six dishes at bargain prices, including a $19 currywurst, $19 German sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, and $20 German-style gnocchi called schupfnudel. Add a German beer or house wine for $6. For those with the time and a cast-iron stomach, the German beer hall is also offering a free meal and a lifetime of free drinks to anyone who finishes a behemoth 1.5-kilogram pork schnitzel, a bowl of chips and a litre of beer in 45 minutes.

18-28 Market Lane, Melbourne, hofbrauhaus.com.au

$14.90 omurice bowls, Nikuland, CBD

Meat cooked teppanyaki-style reigns supreme here, but the 11.30am to 4pm lunch bargains are equally hard to pass up. Omurice – an omelette splayed over garlic rice – is topped with the restaurant’s signature “hamburg” beef patty or chicken karaage, with sweet-sour demiglace gravy or creamy mushroom sauce. There’s also a mixed tempura option for $3 extra.

258 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, nikuland.com.au